Finding ourselves in a nation divided

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This article was published 21/02/2022 (1376 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York; And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths; Our bruised arms hung up for monuments; Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings, Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.”

— William Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” Act I, Scene I

The opening line of one of Shakespeare’s most famous historical tragedies suggested that the protagonist, young Richard, Duke of Gloucester, had reached the depth of his unhappiness and that better days laid ahead.

To borrow and butcher Richard’s soliloquy, Canadians of all stripes have yet to reach the winter of our own discontent, even though the snow continues to fly in this cold and hostile month of February.

As Canadians, we now find ourselves a nation divided — perhaps more so than we want to believe. No matter what side of the divide you may find yourself on, chances are that you feel it, too. Friendships and family ties have been ruptured over the last two years as we have been forced to grope through the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health and general morale of the nation are at an all-time low, made worse by government decisions and restrictions that — however well-meant and science-based they may be — have had the effect of further breaking down the Canadian veneer of civility in our society.

That breakdown has culminated in a crisis moment for our country, one that is testing our democratic ideals and national unity alike.

We are ruled by divisive leaders who either vilify ordinary Canadians for political advantage during a time of national distress, or who seek to foment hatred and zealotry by supporting lawless behaviour and sharing or creating misinformation among the public, again for political advantage.

For Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to decry the “small fringe minority” of Canadians protesting in Ottawa who hold “unacceptable views” represents a failure of thoughtful leadership, and an inability to understand that he must lead for all Canadians, not just those who agree with him.

The “sunny ways” line used by Trudeau to bend the fortunes of the 2015 federal election seems gloriously laughable as Canadian society stares into the maw of insurrection dressed up as a freedom protest. Or rather, a freedom protest that was seized upon by those who sought to topple an elected government by exploiting the righteous anger of those fed up with pandemic politics.

So, too, the actions of far too many members of the Conservative Party of Canada and their colleagues in conservative provincial governments across this country in actively supporting the demands of that mob. Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen, along with party leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre, have shown they should not be entrusted with government power.

As I write this, members of the House of Commons continued to debate on the Emergencies Act, a statute that allows the federal government to enact “special temporary measures to ensure safety and security during national emergencies.”

According to the Maru Public Opinion poll reported last week, two-thirds of Canadians supported Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, with six in 10 Canadians stating that it was time to clear out the protesters in Ottawa, even if it meant people got hurt — or worse.

If that’s not a breakdown in Canadian civility, I don’t know what is.

It must be said that no one involved in the drama — which has unfolded over the last three weeks in Ottawa and at various border crossings and provincial legislatures in our country — has been left untarnished by these events. And that includes those ordinary Canadians with “F—k Trudeau” signs in hand who knowingly or unknowingly stood up alongside representatives of far-right anarchist and white supremacist groups, both of which have seen their numbers grow in the last decade.

Worse still, those who thought it helpful to bring their own children to the frontlines of the occupations in Ottawa, Windsor, Ont., and other protest locations, actively put their offspring in harm’s way. There is no good excuse for anyone to knowingly bring a child to what could potentially be a dangerous situation, whether it be the so-called Freedom Convoy or any other divisive political protest.

Nevertheless, while the trucks and protesters may have been cleared out from the streets of Ottawa, it would be naive to assume this is the end of it. Whether or not the House of Commons and the Canadian Senate support the Emergencies Act legislation, Canadians still find themselves more mistrustful of their family, friends, neighbours and elected officials.

To be clear, no one should be cheering the enactment of the Emergencies Act. To echo Winnipeg Centre NDP MP Leah Gazan, who stood in the House of Commons during that debate, the invocation of this legislation — even the need to consider it — represents a massive political failure on all levels of government to address the needs and concerns of Canadians.

It represents a failure to act by both government and police to use the tools that were already available to them, and it sets a dangerous precedent for future invocation of this legislation by future governments to put down what may be lawful protests.

Yet here we are, debating its merits.

By the looks of things, I’d say we’re in for a summer of discontent, too. What a tragedy.

» Matt Goerzen, editor